Acta Bringing Domestic Renewable Energy Storage and Fuel Cells to Ecoisland for up to 32,000 Homes

22 Feb 2013

Acta S.p.A. has signed a letter of intent with Ecoisland Partnership CIC to offer a domestic renewable energy storage solution for the Isle of Wight. The Ecoisland project intends to make the Isle of Wight – an island of 140,500 inhabitants just off the south coast of England – self-sufficient in energy, water, food, and fuel by 2020. Acta will provide to the project a domestic renewable energy storage system that integrates solar panels with an Acta EL500 electrolyser, hydrogen storage cylinders, and a 5 kW Dantherm Power fuel cell.

This setup allows for decentralised renewable energy storage; excess energy from the solar panels is converted to hydrogen by the electrolyser, stored, and then consumed by the fuel cell in times of deficit. With the wider Ecoisland initiative including the establishment of an island-wide smart grid, there is the possibility for energy stored across many locations to be diverted to specific parts of the island in times of need.

To begin with, Acta will provide a single system for a trial at an Isle of Wight property. If successful, the company will work with the Ecoisland Partnership to promote, finance, and supply systems for installation in up to half of the 65,000 homes on the island, as well as in homes on the partner islands of the Ecoisland Accord, which include Jersey, Fiji, and the Seychelles.

Paolo Bert, Chief Executive of Acta commented: “It is tremendously exciting for Acta to be working with Dantherm Power to help Ecoisland make the Isle of Wight energy self-sufficient. We are moving into a period of increasing energy prices owing to the tightening supply of traditional fossil fuels, and this project will allow clean, renewable energy to be stored so it is used economically, conveniently and safely, and to do so on a local basis that minimises energy transmission losses. Even if the sun is not shining, our clean energy storage solution will enable the solar energy previously generated to be used at any given time, when and where it is most needed.”